Sociology

The Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice department offers a program in Sociology leading to an associate in arts degree. This program offers a comprehensive general education preparation, as well as a solid foundation for continuing on to a four-year institution to pursue a bachelor’s degree in sociology.

Sociology is the scientific study of society. It is a social science that studies social interactions and social structures, as well as stability and change in social life. It considers how social relationships influence individual behavior, and how societies (the sum total of those relationships) develop and change over time. Sociology covers everything from the analysis of brief, wordless contacts between strangers on a train to the rise of social movements and of global, socio-technological processes.

Applied sociology uses the “sociological imagination” to analyze and address problems in human behavior and society; such efforts include urban planning and community organizing.